@juanm

Dear Yan, I want to thank you for the positive feedback. I agree with what you said “I think that when people look to the issue of gentrification positively, they tend to focus on “oh look all the increased rent made the neighborhood nicer” and not “the people who made that community unique cannot afford to live there anymore.” but I want to know…[Read more]

Thanks for reading my blog. The part of your comment that stood out to me was “some people don’t know about the cost and they just want to live their because it’s beautiful.” A question I have for you is do you think people come here and then struggle more than they thought they would ?

Thank you so much for reading my blog. The part of your comment that stood out to me the most was “some people don’t know about the cost and they just want to live their because it’s beautiful.” A question I have for you is do you think that people come here and then struggle a lot more than they thought they would?

Thank you so much for reading my blog. The part of your comment that stood out to me was “I am impacted by your post, “Rent is causing anger,” because the increase in rent is a big problem in california. It is quite difficult to live in the bay area since that is where it gets quite expensive.” A question I have for you do you know anyone who is…[Read more]

I am amazed by your blog “Oakland Violence” because it talks about real things in Oakland. You also mention real stories for example the one about Mario and that really adds to your blog because its a perspective that like they have first hand experience in the things that go on in Oakland.

I am excited by your blog “Landlords Increase Rent Prices” because you go into detail and explain what is going on.As well, because you talk about the community and it is a lot of different perspectives that adds to your post.

One sentence you wrote that stood out to me for me is : “Rent change in prices has been affecting Oakla…[Read more]

Oaklands rent has gone up too high over the years and has become less affordable and is getting people evicted from their homes. Also, the rent changes has made people have to get more than one job to be able to

Dear Juan,
I am interested in your blog post “Rent is Causing Anger” because rising rents are indeed a big problem in Berkeley and in the Bay and it’s hard to see when prices will get better. I, like many others, want to be able to stay in the Bay, and with the way things are going, I’m afraid that I won’t be able to afford to live here.
The chart you included stands out to me because it’s shocking that rents have more than doubled since 2011. I think this is just going to cause the bay to become a much worse place to live. Soon only wealthy people will be able to live here.
I hope that we can find a way to fix this problem so that it doesn’t end up changing Berkeley and Oakland for the worse in the short or long run. While I don’t have an answer for how to fix things, I do think it should be a priority for both cities.
Thanks for enlightening people on this issue. I look forward to seeing what you write next.

I am interested with you post “Rent is causing anger because raising rent is a big deal nowadays especially in the bay area. Some people if they want to go north and will not be able to afford it.
One sentence you wrote that stands out for me is the chart about average rent for a two bedroom. I think this is amazing because some people don’t know about the cost and they just want to live their because it’s beautiful.
Thanks for your writing. I look forward to seeing what you write next,because influence a lot of people that want to go to the bay area. They will look back on their choice based on what the average rent of a 2 bedroom and change their decision to just to stay somewhere they can afford it.
Sebastian Lira

Thank you so much for reading my blog. The part of your comment that stood out to me the most was “some people don’t know about the cost and they just want to live their because it’s beautiful.” A question I have for you is do you think that people come here and then struggle a lot more than they thought they would?

I am impacted by your post, “Rent is causing anger,” because the increase in rent is a big problem in california. It is quite difficult to live in the bay area since that is where it gets quite expensive.

One piece of information that stood out to me is you chart for the average rent for a 2 bed. I think this is a good piece of information because is shows us the inflation of the rent over the years.

Thanks for your writing. I look forward to seeing what you write next, because of your great pieces of evidence. Also on how you chose to format your paper.

Thank you so much for reading my blog. The part of your comment that stood out to me was “I am impacted by your post, “Rent is causing anger,” because the increase in rent is a big problem in california. It is quite difficult to live in the bay area since that is where it gets quite expensive.” A question I have for you do you know anyone who is having a hard time paying rent? Looking forward to hearing back!

Thanks for reading my blog. The part of your comment that stood out to me was “some people don’t know about the cost and they just want to live their because it’s beautiful.” A question I have for you is do you think people come here and then struggle more than they thought they would ?

Your blog is good and I agree with what you said that people are getting evicted from what they once called “home”. I like the evidence you used to support your claim because it was very convincing. Also, I agree that rent is not affordable because I think that to. Maybe you should of used an image to show the data you wrote. Either way Good Job!

Dear Yan, I want to thank you for the positive feedback. I agree with what you said “I think that when people look to the issue of gentrification positively, they tend to focus on “oh look all the increased rent made the neighborhood nicer” and not “the people who made that community unique cannot afford to live there anymore.” but I want to know what are your full thoughts on gentrification?Is gentrification a problem in Riverside?

Juan, this was a really powerful essay. I had no idea how bad the rent crisis was in Oakland, and I find it interesting as well as heartbreaking. I loved how much evidence you used. It helped bring this crisis to life, especially for a reader who is unfamiliar with it. I found this article on the housing crisis in Oakland: https://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/13650-the-housing-crisis-in-oakland?v=preview. I’m curious about how it can be fixed, and what needs to be done other than protesting to fix it. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and research!

Dear, Ja’kari
I am amazed by your poem. “Why do people hate?” because it talks about things that are real and I feel a lot of people can relate to.As well some of the metaphors you use like the snake one.One part of your poem that stands out for me is where you talk about other people and like what they say.I think this is interesting because it’…[Read more]

Juan, I thought this poem was beautiful and gave insight into the true meaning of love. I liked the part about your house not being able to visit you in the hospital. A lot of times we think about all the things we’ve bought or need to buy and forget that people and connection bring true happiness. I especially liked the end where it says, “Materialistic things can be recovered but broken love can’t.” It shows us in the end to be more concerned with love then the things we have. O loved this poem and I hope to see more writing from you.

Your poem is sooo good. I love how you showed how love isn’t about the fancy presents or things you might have. It’s about your true feelings towards the person not your feelings towards what the person may have. You also did good on having a flow in your poem and it wasn’t just everywhere your lines connected with each other. I like when you said the materialistic things aren’t going to be there for you or save you by using examples of the hundred dollar bill when you said ¨No matter how many 100 dollar bills you have Benjamin wont come out the bill and hug you if you are in need of one.¨ You really showed how those nice things cannot help you through your rough times. Only a person you truly love or can connect with can get through to you but if your just with someone just because of the things they own it won’t happen. Overall your poem was great you explanations were very good so that I could understand your poem and what you were trying to say.

I like how you talk about how money and expensive things won’t heal you when you need someone to be by your side. I also like how you add about how money won’t make you happy. You added a lot about love and I like that because I think love is better than money and expensive things. I like how you chose to talk about Love because everyone needs love to be happy and there’s love everywhere and their is not a lot of money and expensive things around.

Dear Janie, I am excited by your shadow box because I like how everything was organized.As well, how you explain all of it and everything in you box has a meaning to it.Also, the doll I like how it has a big meaning to it and how you explain why you put it their.

One sentence you wrote that stands out to me is when you said “The photo with me a…[Read more]

Dear Juan,
I like your artist statement a lot because you put in very detail what you have in your box. Also what you said about the color red, I agree that it’s not just a “gang color” it can be more than that. One sentence that you wrote that stood out to me was that people make assumptions just because your Mexican. That your not gonna graduate and that your just gonna drop out of school, but no we as Mexicans want a good life to pass and go to college like you explained. Your artist statement reminds me of something that happened to me. One time my dad had told me to not get red shoes because its gang color, but it’s not just that like you explain. It’s just a normal color. Thank you for writing. I look forward to seeing what you write next, because you have such an amazing perspective and I like the way you think.

I really like you shadow box because it has a lot of pictures. I also really like the flags you put to represent where you where from. One part of your artwork that stands out to me is the promotion pictures you added. I think is was a great idea to add them because it shows that you were successful in your other schools and that you will continue to do good in school. Another part of your artwork that stood out to me was the color you put on the outside which was red. That stood out to me because people do think that red is related to a gang even if it can be more. Thanks for your shadow box. I look forward to what you make next because I know it will be great.

I am excited by your ¨Shadow Box¨ because I like the way you organized it.As well, that everything you put in your shadow box has a real meaning to it and I think thats good.One part of your shadow box that stands out to me is that you put a pencil inside your shadow box something so basic but you added a real meaning to it.I think t…[Read more]

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This is a youth-powered social network that was started in 2003 by a group of teachers from local sites of the National Writing Project.

We merged several earlier blogging projects. We have found that there are many advantages to bringing students together in one site that lives beyond any particular class. It's easier for individual students to read and write about their own passions, to connect with other students, comment on each other's work, and create multimedia posts for each other. Further, it's been exciting for us to pool our knowledge about curriculum, connected learning, and digital literacies.

If being part of such a community makes sense to you, we invite you to join us. We welcome all youth and any teacher interested in having students publish online and participate in the give and take of a social network like Youth Voices.